Saturday, December 15, 2007

Rota

I went with a small goup of friends to Rota last weekend and spent a delightful 3 days scuba diving and exploring there. Below are are just a few of the hundred or so photos I took while there. Harry Deal, one of the friends above mentioned, took all the underwater photos and I hope to get a disc from him so I can share a few of those with you as well. Meanwhile, here are some of the points of interest on land.In the Town Square on Friday evening they had a Christmas event, did some decorating and just came together as a community. Nice. More on the interesting live tree decorations later.Here is our dive group, ready to strike awe in the underwater denizens with our fearsome presence. Also note our trendy bathing attire.Here we are having dinner at a local watering hole. I had Rota red beans and rice with spicy saugage....ummmmmmmmmm.Secluded bays and some original jungle higlight the island's terrain.The traffic, however, was terrible.There are a couple of well preserved Japanese WWII era guns, and at least one well preserved tourist.There were very few others touring Rota while we were there. These gals came up from Guam along with a friend from the mainland, Virginia, I think. We saw them briefly then we all disappeared into the jungle to see more of fabulous Rota.Babbling fresh water streams; now that is refreshing.The Rota Swimming Hole. Frankly, not very impressive except for the Alcapulco cliff divers in residence.The view from my hotel room's patio.The sunset view is not bad either. Better than a sharp guava in the eye. It looked even better after a couple of Harry's patented Porky's Road Show Margauritas.'Nuff said.The Fabulous Foursome at the Taga Stone Quarry. Very impressive. Not us, the giant Taga stones. Looks like they may have had a work stoppage at a critical moment. I'm thinking Lek Wolensa showed up. Seriously, the work involved to laboriously chip those stones from the underlayment must have been grueling. Not to mention moving them afterwards. These particular ones, of course, never got off the ground as we say these days.This was strange. A small farm in the boonies with most of the fence posts topped with these sometimes moss covered statues. Some were pretty odd.'Nuff said again.How about these Christmas ornaments. Beautifully painted fresh fruits hung in many of the Town Square trees. Neat. Biodegradable. Could be dessert later. Great idea.I'll end this mini travelogue with a view of Songsong Village and Wedding Cake Mountain in the drizzly distance.

What a fine trip we had. What a wonderful way to spend a holiday weekend. Thanks to my friends Jeff, Rose, and Harry for sharing some quality time with me. And Special Thanks to Olive for taking care of Porky's so I could go out and play.

We used to take the pot-holed coral road from the Rota resort, while working on the course, to eat lunch there sometimes, but never stayed there. It was hit hard by one of the typhoons, I didnt know it was open again. Certainly an out of the way place, nice and quiet.

That cannon pic is just so wrong. My sister in law, Ginny, is an archeologist. When I first wrote home from the islands, she mentioned that Rota is unique as an area of early populations which was not torn up from the war. The Blue bananas might give her pause. Any native sites preserved there?

Been meaning to come down and visit you but I'm still nursing the cold from hell. But yes, thank you for the invite, and I will drop by as soon as this sore throat and cough is gone. Beer and anti-biotics...not a good combo.

About Me

Bruce lives on Saipan, has a wife one child and more boonie dogs than should be allowed. He hikes, goes fishing, scuba dives, sails, snorkels and generally enjoys the laid back atmosphere, good food and nice folks on Saipan, Tinian and Rota. He writes when the moon is full and the mood strikes.